WASHINGTON – Yesterday, U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and co-chair of the Senate NATO Observer Group, participated in a fireside discussion with the Atlantic Council on her expectations for the upcoming NATO Summit and U.S. policy on Russia and Ukraine. During the event, Ranking Member Shaheen spoke about the need to force Putin to the negotiating table through targeted sanctions, like those in the bipartisan Graham-Blumenthal legislation.
"What we're seeing is continued intransigence on the part of Vladimir Putin and unwillingness to come to the table, and an interest in continuing the war,” said Ranking Member Shaheen. “We need to do something to change that dynamic. This sanctions bill has the potential to do that—to say to Russia and Putin that we are going to put as much pressure on you as we possibly can.”
“If Russia is successful in Ukraine... they’re not going to stop with that,” she continued. “They’re going to continue, they’re going to look at where else they can go in Europe. And it’s not just about Europe. From our perspective, we ought to be very concerned about what kind of message that a Russian victory in Ukraine will send to all of our adversaries. What is China going to do about Taiwan if they assume that we’re not going to continue with Ukraine on this war? What is North Korea going to do about the Korean peninsula if they assume that we’re not going to come to the aid of our allies when we commit to do that?”
Excerpts of the Ranking Member’s discussion are below. You can watch Senator Shaheen’s full remarks at the Atlantic Council event HERE.
On the Graham-Blumenthal sanctions bill: “Well, what we're seeing is continued intransigence on the part of Valdimir Putin—an unwillingness to come to the table, and an interest in continuing the war. We need to do something to change that dynamic. This sanctions bill has the potential to do that—to say to Russia and Putin that we are going to put as much pressure on you as we possibly can.
"Now, from my perspective, we should also couple that with additional arms sales to Ukraine and to provide them the equipment and the air defenses that they need to protect against Russia’s assault. Obviously, that’s a debate we are going to continue to have in Congress. But this sanctions bill, with 82 co-sponsors, is on the table, it’s ready to go, the House is ready to introduce a similar bill. And, they have a discharge petition, I understand, so they have the ability to get that to the floor in the House. We need to get this done, we need to say to Russia and Putin: it is time now for you to take seriously an end to this war.”
[...]
“Obviously, we are an independent body. We should start acting like one. This is a great opportunity where there is strong bipartisan support to do that. From the President’s perspective, it seems to me that that’s the best of both worlds because it gives him deniability. I can tell you, when I was Governor, it wasn’t always against my interest to have the legislature do something I didn’t like because I could use that when I was dealing with the issues. So, I think that there are some benefits to President Trump in having us move forward with this bill.”
On sending a message to our allies and adversaries: “As we’ve heard from the time that Russia invaded Ukraine, the countries in Eastern Europe – the former Soviet Republics, the Baltic countries, Poland – those countries that had experienced Russia at war know very directly what the impact of that is and feel very vulnerable, as they should, because they are facing the Russian threat. If Russia is successful in Ukraine, everybody I’ve talked to says they’re not going to stop with that. They’re going to continue, they’re going to look at where else they can go in Europe. And it’s not just about Europe. From our perspective, we ought to be very concerned about what kind of message that a Russian victory in Ukraine will send to all of our adversaries. What is China going to do about Taiwan if they assume that we’re not going to continue with Ukraine on this war? What is North Korea going to do about the Korean Peninsula if they assume that we’re not going to come to the aid of our allies when we commit to do that?
"We’re already seeing what Iran has done is across the Middle East. So, I think that there are serious ramifications not just for our allies but for our adversaries on the outcome of this war. Not to mention the fact that as we’ve seen from history, if we don’t stop Putin now then where does he get stopped? And how does the United States have to continue to engage? I’m old enough to remember, my father served in World War II, and I remember those history lessons, what happened because we didn’t stop Hitler when we had the chance. And how many American lives were lost because of that? I don’t want to see my four grandsons have to go to war in Europe because we didn’t do what we should have done now to support Ukraine.”
On Trump’s mishandling of peace negotiations: “I do think we need to talk about the sanctions legislation. I think that will have a real impact if we pass it. It will send a strong message that we need to send, because we have been urging our European allies that they need to continue sanctions on Russia. They have been willing to do that, despite efforts by Viktor Orban and Hungary to not allow that to happen. I also think it's important to acknowledge—and I think the NATO Summit and our partner countries recognize this—the impact that the war in Ukraine is having that's what's prompting the increase in defense spending. It's what's prompting concerns about troops on the eastern flank, and sometimes it feels like there's an effort to ignore the war in Ukraine and to assume that things can go on without it. I think that's an important piece to recognize.
"You said we're in the middle of peace negotiations with Russia and Ukraine, but we're not really. You know, let's be honest here. The President has given Vladimir Putin a pass pretty much since he took office. He's finally beginning to say, ‘Well, maybe I am being played by President Putin.’ But we haven't done the kinds of things to continue to pressure Russia to make them be serious about coming to the table. And without that, it's not likely they're going to, despite what has been really courageous and outstanding work on the part of the Ukrainians. The operation Spider Web, where they took out so many of Russia's planes was just very impressive. It signals where we are going in terms of warfare, because the state of warfare is changing dramatically, as we're seeing with the war in Ukraine. In terms of anything beyond rhetoric to try and get a peace agreement—you know, you're all diplomats in this room, you know that diplomacy and negotiations on this kind of an effort takes grueling day in and day out work. You don't leave the table. You don't go away for months at a time and come back. You continue to work on it, and you have high ranking people who are part of the discussion, and they have folks who come up with ideas and continue to work with their counterparts on the other side. That is not happening. So, for us to suggest that there is a serious peace initiative underway, I think misleads the public about what's really going on.”
Ranking Member Shaheen has long advocated for strengthening NATO-Ukraine relations and pushed for increased military and humanitarian aid and supported sanctions against Russia. In February 2025, Shaheen led a bipartisan delegation to Kyiv to see first-hand the situation on the ground in Ukraine. Senators Shaheen and Senator Tillis are co-chairs the bipartisan U.S. Senate NATO Observer Group in support of the transatlantic Alliance. This week, Senators Shaheen and Tillis introduced bipartisan legislation to establish the Senate NATO Observer Group as a permanent body within the Senate dedicated to addressing and advising on matters related to NATO.
###